The Originals
"The Originals" is a graphic novel created by British author and illustrator Dave Gibbons, published in 2004 under DC Comics' mature imprint, Vertigo. Set in a retro-futuristic version of 1960s Great Britain, the story revolves around the conflict between two rival youth gangs: the stylish "Originals," reminiscent of the mod subculture, and the leather-clad "Dirt," akin to rockers. The narrative is told through the eyes of the protagonist, Lel, who navigates the complexities of friendship, love, and violence as he becomes increasingly embroiled in the gang culture and its illicit activities.
The novel explores themes of youthful disillusionment, the impact of romantic relationships on friendships, and the consequences of gang rivalries, paralleling the historical Mods and Rockers conflicts. Gibbons’s artwork features a distinctive black-and-white style that enhances the narrative's bleak yet nostalgic atmosphere. While "The Originals" garnered positive reviews, its commercial impact was modest compared to Gibbons's previous collaborations. Nevertheless, it stands as a significant work within the graphic novel landscape, contributing to the recognition of comics as a serious form of artistic expression.
The Originals
AUTHOR: Gibbons, Dave
ARTIST: Dave Gibbons (illustrator)
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2004
Publication History
Written and illustrated by British comics author Dave Gibbons, The Originals was published as an original graphic novel in 2004. The graphic novel’s publisher, DC Comics’ adult imprint Vertigo, was founded in 1993 and has proven to be a successful way for DC to establish an outlet for nonsuperhero material as well as comics that feature adult themes, graphic violence, explicit language, and the depiction of sexuality. Other notable works in the Vertigo line are series such as The Sandman (1989-1996), 100 Bullets (1999-2009), and Y: The Last Man (2002-2008). The Originals is one of several original graphic novels published by Vertigo. Even though The Originals deals with adolescents, its graphic violence and explicit language puts it firmly into this mature context.
Gibbons first gained exposure as a regular artist on the British science-fiction comics anthology 2000 AD. Together with other 2000 AD contributors such as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Brian Bolland, he was part of the “British invasion” during the 1980’s and began working on DC titles such as The Flash and Green Lantern. To American audiences, Gibbons is primarily known through his collaborations with Moore, particularly on the deconstructive superhero graphic novel Watchmen (1986-1987), published by DC. Another major collaboration was the Martha Washington series (1990-2007), this time with Frank Miller as writer and Dark Horse as publisher.
Beyond his artistic work, Gibbons emerged as a comics writer for several series during the 1990’s. The Originals marked the first time that he was both the writer and the artist of an original graphic novel.
Plot
The Originals is set in an alternative-history Great Britain and deals with the escalating conflict between two rival youth gangs. On the one hand, there is the eponymous Originals, whose style and behavior strongly resembles the British mod subculture of the 1960’s. Wearing checkered suits, full-body mantles, stylish crash helmets, neat haircuts, and sunglasses, they ride on scooters. On the other hand, clad in leather jackets, jeans, and heavy boots, there is “the Dirt,” a rocker gang that drives Harley Davidson-style motorcycles. In a retro-futuristic setting that resembles a slightly skewed Britain in the early 1960’s, all cars and motorcycles use hovercraft technology instead of tires.
The story is told in retrospective by the protagonist Lel, and it starts shortly before Lel and his best friend, Bok, finish school. Both join the Originals after showing them the way to a meeting of the Dirt. Shortly after, Lel starts to sell psychedelic drugs for Ronnie, the Originals’ leader and owner of the dance club “The Place.” In the beginning, it is all fun and games for Lel and Bok: They hang out with the Originals, participate in brawls, abuse and sell drugs, and party at the club. Things start to get complicated when Lel meets Viv at the Place, and the two fall in love. Lel’s focus on Viv and his increasing neglect of Bok put a strain their relationship. At the same time, the conflict between the Originals and the Dirt escalates and climaxes at a holiday resort, where the two groups clash during school vacation.
While Lel wanders off with Viv to lose his virginity, members of the Dirt destroy the Originals’ hovers, and a large fight ensues. In the course of this fight, Warren, a member of the Originals, kills a member of the Dirt. Since Warren was wearing the same suit, sunglasses, and hat as Lel, the Dirt put the blame on Lel. On the way home, the Dirt members attack Lel, Viv, and Bok, seriously wounding Lel and Viv and killing Bok. After recovering from his injuries, Lel avenges Bok’s death by killing his murderer, Mitch. With the help of two Originals and a recovered Viv, he frames Warren for this murder. In the end, shortly before Lel’s eighteenth birthday, Viv forces Lel to make his first adult decision by choosing between working for Ronnie or staying with her.
Characters
•Leslie, a.k.a. Lel, is the protagonist and first-person narrator. He is seventeen years old and in the last year of school. He becomes the quintessential Originals gang member: a hover-riding dandy with stylish clothes, a neat haircut, and shades. To fund his lifestyle, he starts selling drugs. In the end, he avenges Bok’s murder by killing Mitch and framing Warren but has to decide between Viv and Ronnie.
•James Clement Bokassa, a.k.a. Bok, is Lel’s best friend and the only black person in the entire book. He and Lel are virtually inseparable, but Lel’s relationship with Viv puts a strain on their relationship. He is killed by Mitch during an ambush following the murder of Spark.
•Viv becomes Lel’s girlfriend. An attractive blond, she is disgusted with the escalating struggle between the two gangs and is critical of Lel’s drug habit and trade. She provides Lel with an alibi to frame Warren, but she eventually threatens to leave Lel if he does not quit selling drugs for Ronnie.
•“Wanker” Warren is one of the main antagonists in the book, even though he is part of the Originals. A spoiled, obnoxious boy, he tries everything to fit into the group and befriend Lel and Bok. He decides to impress the others by killing Spark, thus leading to the escalation that costs Bok’s life. As revenge, Lel frames him for his vendetta.
•Ronnie is the leader of the Originals and owner of the Place. Older than Lel, he is also the boss of the drug ring for which Lel and Bok begin working.
•Mitch is the leader of the Dirt, a typical motorcycle gang leader: slightly older, overweight, and unkempt. During the attempt to kill Lel, Viv, and Bok, he is the Dirt who kills Bok by kicking him in the head. In the end, Lel shoots him in the face.
•Spark is a member of the Dirt. At the holiday resort, he is trapped under his motorcycle and killed by Warren.
Artistic Style
The Originals features Gibbons’s signature clean style: a highly detailed panel design, frequent use of vanishing-point perspectives, clear lines, and realistic drawings. One major difference from much of Gibbons’s other work is the fact that the graphic novel comes in black and white, or, rather, in different shades of grey. This lack of color effectively creates an equally bleak and nostalgic mood as well as visually mirroring the binary opposition between the rivaling gangs.
The Originals has a slightly unusual, almost square format, which creates a majority of broad rather than long panels and gives the book an idiosyncratic look. The entire book has a black background; the only exception is the white background of the last page, which effectively underscores the transitional moment Lel is in. The terse captions are never included within the panels but, rather, appear in white on black in the background that surrounds the panels. This structure gives many panels that stand alongside captions a still-like effect, complementing the retrospective narrative. With the notable exception of the ragged-edge obituary for Bok, all of the panels, just like the word balloons, are rectangular.
The panel architecture is highly variable, ranging from relatively stable panel structures to entirely irregular panel relations and numerous double-page spreads, which highlight crucial moments. A particularly significant page is the double-page panel sequence that depicts Lel’s vision during his first high on amphetamine-like drugs as silhouettes in numerous squares. In a largely nonlinear order of impressions, visual information and design take the center stage, highlighting the subjective impression of Lel, who together with Bok is drawn over the panels in a state of blissfully falling. Evocative of Watchmen, the graphic novel comes with three pages of pseudodocumentary newspaper clippings, press releases, advertisements, and music records.
Themes
In large parts, The Originals is a thinly veiled allusion to the rivalry between the Mods and Rockers in the first half of the 1960’s. For Gibbons, who himself acknowledged having a past as a Mod, it is a highly personal account of his youth in Great Britain. The fact that Gibbons, known more for his art than his writing before The Originals, did the job entirely by himself, further stresses this autobiographical element of the story.
The book uses several of the rivalry’s binary oppositions (dandies versus machos, scooters versus motorcycles, amphetamines versus alcohol) and the conflict’s historical climax at the Second Battle of Hastings to develop its narrative. A version of themes already established in the Who’s film Quadrophenia (1979), The Originals is largely about a disaffected youth and conflicts escalating out of hand. By putting guns and knives in the hands of its juvenile cast, it speculates on the potential outcomes of such a rivalry beyond the historical record.
In addition, it is a straightforward coming-of-age story. The recurring male symbol, incidentally also forming the first letter in various graffiti of the Original’s name, hints at yet another thematic dimension: Even though Viv is certainly a strong character, The Originals has nevertheless a decidedly male perspective that relegates women to auxiliary status. It depicts male friendship and the strains it can be put under by romantic relationships with the opposite sex. However, through its open end, it forces the reader to assess Lel’s behavior and thus come to a conclusion on what he will do after Viv has delivered her ultimatum.
Impact
Compared to Gibbons’ canonical collaborations with Moore and Miller, both the commercial and critical impact of The Originals proved to be rather limited, even though the graphic novel received favorable reviews overall and sold well. Still, with its publication as an original graphic novel, its mature subject matter that transcends juvenile topics and shuns superhero comics, and its detailed and realistic artwork, it is very much a product of its time. As such, The Originals can be regarded as a typical document of the 2000’s surge in graphic novels as a serious cultural expression. Furthermore, it is yet another graphic novel that supports the increasingly established understanding of comics artists and writers as auteur figures who work beyond the assembly-line modes of production usually associated with mainstream comics.
By placing emphasis on autobiographical content and individual creation, Gibbons follows in the footsteps of comic authors such as Art Spiegelman and Will Eisner, just as authors such as Craig Thompson and Chris Ware have done. Possibly even more crucial is the fact that by emerging as a writer, Gibbons emancipated himself from the exclusive role of the artist, which still tends to be underestimated in journalistic and academic contexts.
Further Reading
Grant, Alan, et al. Marvel Masters: The British Invasion (2007-2008).
Miller, Frank, and Dave Gibbons. Give Me Liberty: An American Dream (1990).
Moore, Alan, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins. Watchmen (1986-1987).
Thompson, Craig. Blankets (2003).
Bibliography
Dougall, Alastair, and Alex Irvine, eds. The Vertigo Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2008.
Ewing, Jack. “Dave Gibbons.” In Guide to Literary Masters and Their Works. Toledo, Ohio: Great Neck Publishing, 2007.
Gibbons, Dave. “Dave Gibbons.” Interview by BBC Cult. December 17, 2004. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/cult/2004/12/17/16118.shtml.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “TCJ 300 Conversations: Dave Gibbons and Frank Quitely.” Transcribed by Gavin Lees. http://www.tcj.com/tcj-300/tcj-300-conversations-dave-gibbons-frank-quitely.
Gravett, Paul. Graphic Novels: Everything You Need to Know. New York: HarperCollins, 2005.